This music video at the beginning of this post was shown before the talk show of Okan Bayülgen in 2009. He is always known as a man against the system, he is never afraid of saying his opinion from the beginning of his career. These characteristics finally made him choose to be out of show business as he is no more “free” enough to talk. This song and the lyrics are like a summary of his ideas about the system we live in.
As the heading “Consume, Obey, Die” suggests, this video is a critique of consumerism and the way of life dictated to us. As a talk show host, Okan Bayülgen is able to show this critique in one of the most watched TV shows in Turkey, using the supporter of the system against it. This time media is showing something that is against what it is generally told to do, being against the system. This is why we can consider this video as an example of culture jamming.
The climax of the video according to me is where Okan talks about “being a good boy and becoming a good man”. After he talks about the system, he says “Fog the system.” again and again while the word “fog” is falling from the sky to avoid any disambiguation. He uses this phrase and technique, as his show was fined because of using the “real” phrase explaining his view about the system.
Being able to criticize the system within the system is a hard thing to do which should be appreciated. Also, people who were not famous at that time, but who are now can be seen in the video. All the people in the video are brave people as they are able to do it. There is one more thing to consider while thinking about this culture jamming example. Is it fair to work at a media company (which works for the system), gain from it a lot, but act against it? Or does it show the person’s sincerity?
sosc111: Studies in Popular Culture 